“Please silence your cell phones.” But people don't. Either they forget, or they're just plain inconsiderate. So, cell phones ring in theaters, libraries, during church services and even during funerals. Sometimes, the bright light of a cell phone screen can irritate movie-goers, if someone is typing a text message or email in an otherwise dark theater. The requests and signs, displayed in areas intended for a disturbance-free experience, simply do not work much of the time.
In other situations, cell phone usage has more dire consequences. Cell phones in prisons can facilitate criminal activity, enabling violent prisoners to plan escapes or control gang activity outside prison walls. An Oct. 22, 2008 Associated Press release, titled “Prison Officials Hindered by Pro-Cell-Phone Rules”, documented a murder that was facilitated by a cell phone used within a prison. A Nov. 21, 2008 USA Today article, titled “Smuggled phones flourish in prisons—Federal law bans signal jamming”, describes escapes, drug deals, and harassment of victims by prisoners using cell phones.
Prison officials are currently searching for ways to address the problem of cell phone usage within prisons and, according to both articles referenced above, some state officials have even considered the use of cell phone jammers that violate the Federal Communications Act. Besides their illegality, such jammers can also interfere with emergency calls, which can create new dangers.
The current situation, that state officials are considering violating federal laws and are willing to block even access to emergency services in some areas, in order to combat a more pervasive threat posed by cell phone usage, is clear evidence that there has been a failure by others to effectively curtail cellular device usage within defined control zones, while still permitting access to emergency services.
Further evidence, that there has been a failure of others to solve the problem of cell phone usage in certain areas, includes recent incidents of jurors using cell phones to surf the internet to look for outside evidence on a case. A Mar. 17, 2009 New York Times article, titled “As Jurors Turn to Web, Mistrials Are Popping Up”, quoted the president of the American Society of Trial Consultants as stating “It's really impossible to control it.”
Not any more.